Ambassadors of Israel to Italy

Israel opened a consulate-general in Rome in 1949, and Shlomo Genossar became the first Israeli Legate in Italy in 1950.[1] A Jewish Virtual Library overview states that Israel subsequently established an embassy in Rome and a consulate-general in Milan, with the ambassador also maintaining contact with the Vatican.[3]

The diplomatic arrangements later became institutionally distinct. The American Jewish Committee describes separate Israeli embassies in Rome, one accredited to the Italian State and another to the Holy See.[2] Following Israel's establishment of diplomatic relations with the Holy See, an Israeli embassy to the Holy See and a Vatican nunciature in Israel were established on January 19, 1994.[4]

Shlomo Genossar became the first Israeli Legate in Italy in 1950.[1]

Eliyahu Sasson (1902–1978), whose given name is rendered as "Eliahu" in U.S. State Department records, held the Rome post during the 1950s. Sources differ on the chronology of his diplomatic grade: the State Department's historical list describes him as ambassador to Italy from 1953, while Encyclopaedia Judaica says that he served first as minister in Rome and was elevated to ambassador in 1957, remaining there until 1960.[5][6] Before Rome, he served as Israeli minister to Turkey from 1950 to 1952; he later served as ambassador in Bern in 1961.[6] Sasson had previously been a Jewish Agency official and subsequently served as a minister in the Israeli government.[7]

Ehud Avriel served as Israel's ambassador to Italy from 1965 to 1968.[8] Before that appointment, he was deputy director general of the Foreign Ministry from 1961 to 1965, responsible for African affairs, and was among the pioneers of Israel's policy of developing close ties with newly independent African nations.[8]

Amiel E. Najjar held the ambassadorship in January 1973, when he accompanied Prime Minister Golda Meir to her audience with Pope Paul VI on January 15. Their conversation addressed the Middle East and issues concerning the Holy Land.[9]

Avi Pazner served as Israel's ambassador in Rome from 1991 to 1995.[10] His tenure coincided with the 1991 Madrid Conference and the signing of the Oslo Accords, as well as five successive Italian prime ministers — Giuliano Amato, Giulio Andreotti, Azeglio Ciampi, Lamberto Dini, and Silvio Berlusconi — whose attitudes toward Israel he described as differing.[10]

Pazner recalled that most Italian media during his service were broadly supportive of Israel, while the Communist newspapers L'Unità and Il Manifesto were strongly critical.[10] After Israel expelled four hundred Hamas members to Lebanon, he persuaded L'Unità to publish a piece he authored under the title "Leftists — you don't understand Hamas." The publication prompted internal debate about why the newspaper had given Israel's ambassador a platform; Communist Party secretary-general Achille Occhetto intervened, though the discussion continued.[10]

Ehud Gol was serving as Israel's ambassador to Rome as of April 2006.[11] When Israeli flags were burned at an Italian commemoration of the country's wartime liberation that year, Gol said he was "filled with humiliation and anger" at the incident, which he declared profaned the liberation celebration and violated the memory of Jewish Brigade members who had helped free Italy.[11] He called on Italy to apologize to the families of those Jewish fighters.[11] Ynet later identified him as a former ambassador to both Italy and Portugal.[12]

By May 2008, Gideon Meir was being described as Israel's "new ambassador to Italy."[13] His overseas appointments included service as ambassador to Italy and non-resident ambassador to Malta.[14] During his tenure he thanked Italian President Giorgio Napolitano for opening the Turin Book Fair, at which Israel was guest of honor, and told La Repubblica that the decision represented "a very important moral position" against extremists seeking to boycott the fair and delegitimize Israel.[13] By early 2009, Meir had previously spent eight years as the Foreign Ministry's deputy director general for public affairs, responsible for public diplomacy.[15] A 2011 report identified him as ambassador to Italy, Malta, and San Marino.[16]

Naor Gilon followed Meir in the Rome posting. A 2013 interview reported that he expected to mark two years in the post the following February, placing his arrival in early 2012.[17] Before the ambassadorship, he had served as a political counselor at Israel's embassy in Washington, chief of staff to Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, and a deputy director-general responsible for European Union affairs.[17] Ofer Sachs succeeded him as ambassador in 2016.[18]

Sachs served as Israel's ambassador to Italy from 2016 to 2019.[18] Before the posting, he was director-general of the Israel Export Institute from 2012 to 2016; after his ambassadorship, he became chief executive of the strategic consulting firm Herzog Strategic in 2019.[18] An American Jewish Committee delegation met privately with Sachs in Rome on April 28, 2017, alongside Italian political figures.[19]

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu selected Dror Eydar for the ambassadorship in September 2018, subject to approval by the relevant appointments committee and the government.[20] Eydar subsequently served a three-year term that ended on September 4, 2022, placing the beginning of his service in 2019.[21] He was described as a historian, intellectual, and former Israel Hayom columnist rather than a career diplomat.[21] During his tenure, he participated in a January 2020 event on antisemitism organized by Italian opposition leader Matteo Salvini, alongside Dore Gold, British intellectual Douglas Murray, and Italian Senate president Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati.[22] Eydar also supported Italy's adoption of the IHRA working definition of antisemitism and backed a joint space experiment involving Italian and Israeli aerospace programs.[23]

Alon Bar succeeded Eydar in September 2022.[21] At an international emergency summit on global antisemitism hosted by the Italian parliament on November 23, 2023, Bar stated that Jewish people in Italy were "taking care to go unnoticed due to fear of attack," contrasting their situation with that of Italy's Muslim population.[24]

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu named Fiamma Nirenstein — an award-winning journalist, author, former member of Italy's Chamber of Deputies, and former vice president of its Committee on Foreign Affairs — as ambassador-designate to Italy on August 10, 2015.[25][26] Her candidacy did not result in service: in May 2016, she announced that she was renouncing it after months of complications and a delayed vetting process, citing personal reasons.[26] The Israeli Foreign Ministry did not officially confirm her withdrawal.[26]

In July 2023, the Israeli government appointed Benny Kashriel, the long-time mayor of Ma'ale Adumim and a former head of the Yesha Council, as ambassador to Italy.[27] Italy declined to approve the appointment because of his former Yesha Council role and his residence in a settlement.[28] In 2024, Israel officially cancelled the appointment and considered transferring Kashriel to Hungary while moving Jonathan Peled, who had been designated for Hungary, to Italy.[28] Peled ultimately took up the Rome post, while Kashriel later withdrew his candidacy for Hungary.[27]

Jonathan Peled had begun serving as Israel's ambassador to Italy by December 2024 and presented his credentials to the Italian president shortly before the report documenting his arrival.[27] The Israeli Embassy in Italy's biography page, updated on May 22, 2025, identifies him as ambassador to Italy and San Marino.[29]

On July 15, 2026, JNS reported that the Israeli government had unanimously approved Peled's appointment as ambassador to the United Nations mission in Geneva.[30] He was expected to assume that position in November 2026 and to continue serving as ambassador to Italy and non-resident ambassador to San Marino until then.[30]

Two proposed appointments attracted particular attention without producing service in Rome. Fiamma Nirenstein withdrew her candidacy in 2016 after a delayed appointment process.[26] Italy later declined to approve Benny Kashriel, with reports linking its decision to his former Yesha Council leadership and residence in a settlement.[28][27]

The available sources do not constitute a complete chronological roster of all officeholders. Service dates and the sequence of some ambassadors are reconstructed from official biographies, historical references, and contemporaneous reports rather than from a single authoritative list. The differing accounts of Eliyahu Sasson's diplomatic grade in the 1950s are one example of the resulting uncertainty.[5][6]